Tuesday's Musical Notes - "I Will Follow Him" (Cast from Sister Act/Little Peggy March)
Hi
there!!! It's another Tuesday and you are in just the right spot for a
dose of the delectable, a taste of the tantalizing, and a sprinkling of
the spiritual...it's Tuesday's Musical Notes!!! It is our goal at
Tuesday's Musical Notes to inspire you to broader musical appreciation
as well as greater depths of Biblical investigation. Today is a prime
example as we reconnoiter discipleship together. Before we explore,
let's take a look at one interpretation of today's feature song. No,
really, we need to get this out of the way so you can focus...
which differs a bit from the original...
Most folks know of her smash 1963 #1 hit "I Will Follow Him", but what many of the Sister Act generation don't realize is that in
1963 and 1964 Little Peggy March (4' 9") would have 5 singles hit
Billboard's Hot 100. From 1963 to 1981, she would achieve international
chart success with a grand total of 41 singles. She is the youngest
female performer to ever have a #1 as "I Will Follow Him" would soar to
the top spot in April of 1963 when
she was only 15 . She continues to perform at venues in the United
States after spending many years in Germany, where she achieved the
height of her popularity.
"I
Will Follow Him" is a great example of a song which can have a duality
of meanings depending on its context. If played at a drive-in, it is a
love song, however, in our Sister Act example it is a song of devotion
to the Savior. There are many songs that if you take a few minutes to
delve into the lyrical content, you could see redemption in the rhyme.
In fact, I recently read a blog by youth pastor Al Di Salvatore, that
discussed 50 "secular" songs that could be sung in church. Some of the
songs may seem to be a stretch for you, but read his explanation and
ponder... From his blog, Read Between The Lines:
Even
if you don't agree with all of the selections on Salvatore's list, you
probably know songs,"secular" and "sacred" that speak to your spirit as
intimately as "Just As I Am" did to previous generations. What these
songs have in common is a devotion to Jesus that is so powerful, that it
causes folks to do whatever they can to be followers...or to become a
disciple.
At dictionary.com,
the first definition for disciple is one of a religious context. It
describes a disciple as, "one of the 12 personal followers of Christ,
one of the 70 followers sent forth by Christ, any other professed
follower of Christ in His lifetime, or any follower of Christ" It then
defines a disciple as "a person who is a pupil or adherent of the
doctrines of another". You see, all of us are disciples of something or
someone. The beauty behind our free will is the fact that we get to
choose who disciples us.
The Gospels are the first four books of the New Testament. They tell the story of Jesus. In the New International Version of the Gospels,
the phrase "follow me" is used 29 times. Matthew has 9, Mark notes the
passage 6 times, and "follow me" is used 7 times in Luke and John.
Every time it is articulated, Jesus is the one who says it. He uses
these words in 2 ways.
The
first connotation of "follow me" is that of a declarative/command
statement. Jesus uses it when He calls each of the disciples. Peter and
Andrew, Matthew 4:18-20. Matthew, Mark 2:14. Philip and Nathanael,
John 1:43-50. It is easy to see the use of "follow me" as an action
that the listener must obey. Jesus calls to each of us the same way today. "Follow me" is the call to salvation. It is the call to put on "the mind of Christ" as we study His Word. It
is the call to engage with Him in the ministry that He has planned for
us. It is a call that is declared to all who will listen and it can be a
call to sacrifice.
Secondly,
"follow me" is used to give the direction or location of where
disciples will be going. Jesus explains later on in His ministry that
His disciples will follow the paths that He takes and ultimately, will
follow Him to heaven. Time and again, Jesus speaks in terms of physical
places and events in which His disciples will follow Him. For a more
in depth study on how the disciples followed Jesus, even to,with the
exception of John, their deaths, pick up the book by John MacArthur, Twelve Ordinary Men. When reading, you soon discover that Jesus wants us to follow in spirit and truth. You never hear Jesus say, "When
things are easy, follow me",
"When
you feel like it, follow me, "When
your friends think it is cool, follow me", "When
you've made enough money, follow me",
"When
you're old enough, follow me".
While
the command to follow Jesus has two distinct applications, it never
changes. The life of a disciple will have its challenges, yet
because...."We love Him, we love Him, we love Him..." "I will follow
Him..."
'Til Tuesday,
Serving HIM by serving you,
Randy
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